This is a continuation of a 2012 storyhttp://www.wfaa.com/news/investigates/D ... 84145.htmlDALLAS - The Kimball Knights are a basketball powerhouse in Texas; 4-A state champs two years in a row.
But did they win it fair and square?
Much of the credit goes to junior guard Keith Frazier, who scored 17 points in the state championship game. Frazier is also ranked as one of the top 10 players in the country, according to Rivals.com.
But should he really have been playing for Kimball High?
For the first three months of the 2011-2012 school year, Frazier lived at a house in Irving and was destined to be a star player for the Irving Tigers.
But in early November of last year, Frazier and his family picked up and moved out of the Irving residence where they'd lived for three years.
Days later, Frazier enrolled at Kimball, rated by the state as an "academically unacceptable" high school in south central Dallas.
But before he could play basketball for Kimball, Frazier's transfer had to be approved by the Dallas ISD's District 11 4-A executive committee, made up of representatives of each school in Kimball's district.
The key question asked by the committee: Did Frazier move so he could play basketball for the reigning state champs? To do that would be a violation of state high school basketball rules prohibiting players for moving for "athletic purposes."
When the executive committee met last November 18, according to meeting minutes, Irving varsity basketball coach Steven Perry showed up and lodged an objection. Coach Perry "believed Frazier was improperly influenced to attend Kimball" by his "AUU (summer league) coach."
But Frazier's mother, Sherry Pulliam, told committee members she had to move because her rent went was being raised and she could no longer afford the house in Irving. She said no one influenced her move to the Kimball school zone.
One committee member asked Frazier, what "the odds were that in a 5 day period he would land at Kimball, the defending state champions?"
Frazier's response: "It can happen."
The committee then voted to approve the transfer.
Around the same time the transfer was approved, News 8 found the following quotes on the Twitter account of Frazier's mother:
"...this is a cut throat business, I'm just saying."
"...I think he got stock in that school."
"...these kids are not y'all kids... it's not personal it's business."
Frazier went on to become one of Kimball's top stars. But News 8 has learned the transfer may not have happened as Frazier's mother described.
A copy of the lease obtained by News 8 and according to the Dallas Housing Authority, Pulliam's federally-subsidized rent could not have gone up in October as she claimed. It was locked in at $505 a month.
In fact, according to the landlord, Pulliam moved out of the house in Irving without notice, and still owes back rent.
According to the Dallas Housing Authority, Pulliam appears to have committed a "breach of obligation." That means she broke the lease and no longer qualifies to receive federal housing assistance.
Just days ago, News 8 Investigates caught up with Sherry Pulliam, and her story of why she moved had apparently changed.
"At the time I was in the process of trying to relocate and find a house, and my landlord was selling, so I was just looking for something," she said.
According to the Dallas Housing Authority, a landlord can't sell a house as long as the tenants are abiding by the lease.
Again, last November, Pulliam claimed she had to move because the rent was going up.
Another question: If checking out the story was as easy as asking for the lease, why didn't DISD officials discover conflicts in the family's story?
Getting that answer has been difficult since Dallas ISD Athletic Director Jeff Johnson declined our repeated requests for an interview.
He did tell us this via an e-mail message:
"Our staff pays very close attention to UIL [University Interscholastic League] rules. The District Executive Committee... not the Chairman or anyone in the Athletics Office, is allowed to manipulate the process."
Johnson said he is concerned by questions being raised in the News 8 investigation.
Our investigation continues. In the coming days, we will take a closer look at residency issues involving the entire Kimball state championship teams, as well as members of last year's state championship team.
Even if it's found that only Keith Frazier transferred for athletic reasons, Kimball could be forced to forfeit all games that Frazier played in - including this year's state title game.
http://highschoolsportsblog.dallasnews. ... port.html/WFAA report cites sources saying Kimball recruits its boys basketball players
By SportsDayDFW sports
[email protected]10:26 pm on May 21, 2012 | Permalink
Kimball’s boys basketball coaching staff recruits players across the Dallas area in an attempt to convince them to transfer to the school, according to sources cited in a WFAA report Monday night.
University Interscholastic League rules prohibit students from transferring from one school to another for athletic purposes.
In the report Helen Delaney says two Kimball coaches contacted her this past summer about her son Brien Howard, a junior varsity player at Irving MacArthur, and tried to convince her to move to Kimball’s attendance zone with her son.
"He (a Kimball coach) even told me there were some new houses out there (in Kimball’s attendance zone) that I would be interested…that they could probably help me get into," Delaney said.
Delaney also said in the report that one of the Kimball coaches told her that she and her son could remain in Irving, their current hometown, and commute to Kimball daily.
Tim Onkst, owner of TexasRoundball.com, summarized Delaney’s claims in the report.
"They (Kimball coaches) are recruiting them (players)," Onkst said. "They go out and actively try and get the best players they can get to come."
Dallas ISD released a statement to The Dallas Morning News on Monday, through spokesman Jon Dahlander, saying the points broadcast are being investigated.
"The issues raised in a story aired on WFAA alleging that a student transferred to Kimball High School for athletic purposes are being investigated by the district. In addition, new information received by the superintendent’s office within the last week related to the roster of the men’s basketball team at Kimball is also being investigated. Again, Dallas ISD wants its teams to play by the rules both on and off the court. There will be no additional statements on this issue until this internal investigation is complete," the statement says.
Two weeks ago a WFAA report centered on the details surrounding Kimball standout Keith Frazier’s transfer from Irving to Kimball in the fall, when Frazier’s mother reportedly told the District 11-4A executive committee that the two were moving from Irving because the rent on their federally subsidized home was increasing. But the lease, according to the WFAA report, showed that the rent was frozen.
Nine players from Kimball’s team this year transferred to the school, according to WFAA. The list includes Keith Frazier, Torrey Henry, Randelle Jones, Darian Hancock, David Tucker, D’Angelo Allen, Shannon Lilly, Gabe Lilly and Sheldon Yearwood.
The report also singles out Jalen Jones and Jordan Williams as members of the
2011 state championship team who transferred to Kimball.